Contributions
1,745 recent contributions in Hansard
HANSARDPublic HealthFirst, I think my hon. Friend, if I heard him correctly, talked about the “Government’s measures on lockdown”. I am not sure where he has seen these measures on lockdown, because…14 Dec 2021HANSARDPublic HealthI beg to move, That the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Wearing of Face Coverings) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 (SI, 2021, No. 1400), dated 9 December 2021, a copy of…14 Dec 2021HANSARDPublic HealthI will give way one more time for now and then I will come back to other colleagues.14 Dec 2021HANSARDPublic HealthWhat I can tell my right hon. Friend is that there are approximately 6,000 people in English hospitals who have tested positive for covid, and of those—I have shared information…14 Dec 2021HANSARDPublic HealthIf my right hon. Friend will allow me, I am about to come to precisely the point he raises. The second thing about omicron that I want to share is that, although we do not yet…14 Dec 2021HANSARDPublic HealthWhat I think we need to do are the measures that are in front of the House today, and I hope the House will support them. I think those are the most important measures we can take…14 Dec 2021HANSARDPublic HealthI shall indulge my hon. Friend the Member for North West Leicestershire (Andrew Bridgen) because he is going to be really short.14 Dec 2021HANSARDPublic HealthYes, I can confirm that to my right hon. Friend. First, he is absolutely right to make that point. Of course it is not just about individuals entering hospital but about how many…14 Dec 2021HANSARDPublic HealthYes, I absolutely accept that point. With previous variants of covid, we have seen forecasts and estimates—whether from academics, think-tanks or others—that have been completely…14 Dec 2021HANSARDPublic HealthWe all want to relax. I wish I was more relaxed now than I already am. My hon. Friend is absolutely right on that, and I agree with him.14 Dec 2021HANSARDPublic HealthI must make some progress, but I will take further interventions in a moment. I wish to talk about the importance of what we have learned about omicron and the vaccines. Vaccines…14 Dec 2021HANSARDPublic HealthI thank my hon. Friend for sharing that with the House. I think it is important to hear that support from South African experts too.14 Dec 2021HANSARDPublic HealthThat is a very fair question, as always from my hon. Friend. In the measures we are setting out, we are taking into account the very best advice we are being given—this includes…14 Dec 2021HANSARDPublic HealthThe hon. Gentleman may have heard earlier, when I started my remarks, that I talked about what I said at this Dispatch Box in July and, specifically, about the risk of a…14 Dec 2021HANSARDPublic HealthI will do so later. In England, 10 people are confirmed to have been hospitalised with the omicron variant. I know that some hon. Members have said that, because confirmed…14 Dec 2021HANSARDPublic HealthI give way first to the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas).14 Dec 2021HANSARDPublic HealthWe are, as the hon. Lady would imagine, working very closely with directors of public health throughout England, whether on testing or other areas. On PCR testing capacity…14 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateI would say to my right hon. Friend that I hope her constituent would appreciate that the Government have to act on the information they see before them on the rate of spread of…13 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateThe hon. Gentleman is right to point to the lag between the point of infection and hospitalisation. That emphasises the need to act early and strongly. That is why the booster…13 Dec 2021HANSARD Covid-19 UpdateMy right hon. Friend makes an important point, from experience. We can be proud of so much of what our regulators have achieved and done. As he said, we were the first in the…13 Dec 2021